A Ride Home
by Stray the Metallic Imp
Summary: Based on the original BBC version of The Office. Gareth could get two rides home, but Tim decides the other is out of the question. Tiniest hint of slash, seriously, you'd need to squint. Please R&R!


A Ride Home 

Disclaimer: I so totally own nothing. Ask Ricky Gervais, the bastard.

Notes: It was a plot bunny. A very angry and unamused plot bunny. I swear to God that was what happened. I'm sticking with my story. Yup.

The Story:

Weekends in Slough were usually slow. As was the case this particular Friday night, half the employees of Wernham-Hogg went home while the other half hit the pubs, and it was usually Chasers that got hit.

Tim had stopped in thinking he'd enjoy a cold beer and take off, and as you usually do in a pub, sat nursing it while taking in the scenes and the people. Not far off he could see David nursing a pint with Finch while on the other side of the room a couple women from the factory gossiped about something or other over they're own drinks. Turning on his stool he pivoted around to see if there was anyone else he knew and spotted his precious desk mate sitting with Jimmy the perv and a bloke whom he did not recognize. Jimmy seemed to be getting annoyed because he was being left out of an animated discussion between the scarecrowish man and the newcomer. This was proved when after a few moments he rose and stalked off towards the loo in a huff.

Tim smiled slightly and glanced back around to make sure that he had not been spotted by his odious employer and continued to spy on his coworker with absent interest as he drank from his bottle. As he drank an eyebrow rose when the stranger moved from his own seat to the one that had been occupied by Jimmy, which was also much closer to Gareth. The latter seemed oblivious and continued explaining something with awkward but passionate hand gestured and the other man watched him with intense interest.

Tim, curious despite himself, ordered a second drink when he discovered his bottle empty and continued watching them while glancing around from time to time. After about ten minutes passed the stranger grabbed the now empty mugs and moved towards the bar to have them refilled. Tim studied him as he got close, the way you do when first encountering a person, and found him to resemble Gareth slightly in the face. He had the same chin and cheekbones though his jaw was slightly wider and his nose a bit smaller. Hair was cut strangely long and was blondish red in color. He was shorter than Gareth but likely taller than himself, and looked lean but built well. The way you would expect a swimmer to be built. Tim caught his eye as he walked up and saw that they were a cool shade of gray, but his expression was neutral. The man did not smile or nod his head in greeting as you do with strangers; he merely locked onto him with cool gray orbs and kept moving. The look was not directly unfriendly, but it was certainly not kind.

The man got the drinks and paused to grab a handful of nuts off the bar while letting his hand hover nonchalantly over one of the now filled mugs. It was pure misplaced timing and observation that allowed Tim to see the small white pill drop down into the brew as the man popped a few cashews into his mouth.

And just like that, he picked up the two drinks and put on a quick mask of friendliness as he reapproached the other taller man and handed him the tainted drink. The fact he had just witnessed what he had, and he wasn't entirely sure of it, seemed unbelievably surreal to Tim. He blinked stupidly and watched the two revive their discussion while his brain cells tried to click into place. Had that man just slipped Gareth (of all people) a ruthie or whatever it is they are called? He had certainly heard of date rape and all that, but did men actually drug other men? He had thought only hopeless imbeciles did that and it was usually to women. He watched with detached interest as Gareth drank his drink and he also noticed the stranger sidling up closer to him as if speaking to him privately. At that point the blond did pull away slightly and a strange emotion flitted across the man's face before he pulled away slightly.

Jimmy materialized out of nowhere and gave his buddy's new friend a dirty look before saying something to the soldier and walking out after his response. "_Saying g'night I suppose…_" Was Tim's thought and he watched with a feeling of distaste as the two joked about something and Gareth lifted up his half drunk drink and with egging on from the other, chugged it down in three gulps. They laughed and he set down the mug with an expression of accomplishment and smugness as the other held up his hands in defeat and fished out his money clip to pass a few notes over.

By this time Tim's eyebrows had melted in with his hairline as he realized what the stranger had done. He had actually gotten the other man to drink the drugged drink faster by making some sort of a bet. The man was either crafty, or Gareth was more gullible than he had ever imagined before. While Tim enjoyed seeing his desk mate make an arse of himself, it would be negligence and morally wrong to allow what was happening to continue on.

Standing up with a groan he made his way over to the two other men and dropped into the seat next to his almost friend with a cheery grin. Gareth looked over at him in confusion as if not sure he should welcome the company or make Tim go away while he received a very unkind look from the stranger. Gareth's eyes were already beginning to dilate but he seemed coherent enough, but the brunette decided he had come over at a proper time.

"Tim? What do you want?"

Apparently the latter had decided frank confused rudeness was the correct approach. The stranger glanced from his prey to the newcomer and seemed unsure how to deal with the new obstacle.

"Well, drinking alone is fun and all, but I thought I'd walk over and grace you with my company. Who's your friend?"

He turned his eyes upon the stranger and it was met with a silent challenge. He could tell the man wanted to get Gareth out of Chasers while he was still capable of walking on his own, but Tim was going to make sure that when the thin man left, it was not going to be with this creep.

"Oh? Oh! This is Glenn, he just moved into Slough. He works at that motor shop just off of Crescent and Merrium? Said he could get me a discount on new brakes for the Triumph."

"Did he now? Well, that's rather generous of him. So what do you think of Slough, Glenn?"

The look he received was cool with an underlying aggression. At that expression Tim shot a quick glance over to the lanky man beside him and saw that Gareth's eyes were officially just pupils and a tiny ring of blue. His lids were already beginning to droop and his chin was dipping in towards his chest as though trying to nap with his eyes open.

"I enjoy it. It's quieter than London and I find myself enjoying the scenery."

Glenn's voice trailed off as he gazed intently at the blond and shot Tim a snide sneer. He stood up and grabbed his black leather jacket from the back of his chair and shrugged it on with ease. His eyes never left Tim's as he did this and he gave a patronizing smile.

"G'night."

Tim watched him go with a feeling of distaste. He doubted that the man's name was really Glenn nor did he believe he worked at a motor shop. He had looked at the man's hands and seen that they were clean and uncalloused. Had he worked with motors he would have likely had grease around his cuticles or under his nails, but they were clean. It didn't matter any more though. Glenn had realized early on it was a fool's errand to try to leave with Gareth that late in the game, and had made a discreet getaway.

Tim sighed and shook his head as he turned to look at his upright dozing coworker. Nudging him awake he slung one of the other's long arms over his shoulder and supported him up.

He wouldn't mind giving his friend a ride home.


End file.
